This was a fun, dark academia urban fantasy for middle grade and YA audiences! Sadly, I think it was written just a little too young for my tastes.

What's not to love about this? Quell had me on the edge of my seat. House of Marionne is a well crafted YA fantasy and ticks all the boxes for me. Dark magic. Magic school. Broody love interest. And so many twists!!! Highly recommend.

The premise of this was intriguing enough that I wanted to give it a try despite generally feeling too old for most YA books. Unfortunately, I should have gone with my gut. The plot wasn’t delivered in a lively or all-encompassing way and often fell flat and left me wanting for more. The writing felt so young, even for YA, and I was hoping the dark academia vibes would come through stronger.

What a fantastic young adult fantasy start of a series! Mouthful! Loved the buildup of characters, worlds, plot, even the cliffhanger was done super well!

It’s a story of a young girl, Quell, realizing where her power truly lies. And who her enemy’s are. It’s got some twists that complicate things… or do they! Really enjoyed it!

This book had everything in it I should love. Dark academia. Cool magic. POC. Not sure it was for me though.

tl;dr
Magical boarding school with a dark academia twist. Moves a little unevenly, but shows a lot of promise for future installments.

Thoughts
The cover and description of this book had me going in thinking it was going to be more standard fantasy, so I found myself very confused by the use of cell phones at the start. Turns out it's modern magical boarding school with a dark academia twist, and I should have read the description more thoughtfully (mea culpa). Magical boarding schools don't usually do it for me, but this has all the markers that fans of the genre will love: distinct named Houses, mysterious symbols, classifications of things, school culture, magical tests, and Latin! And of course, a secret plot going on behind the scenes that our scrappy young heroine will have to uncover. The magic system and the school system are both described in depth, with a lot of cool stuff that sparks the imagination. The masks/diadem system in particular is very cool.

The lead couple are a standard enemies to lovers pair, although I found myself much more invested in the lives of several of the supporting cast. This book feels more like a setup for what's the come - now that we've been introduced to the magic, the characters, and the plot, the real fight can begin. It makes the pacing of the first volume a little wobbly, but the ending really comes in swinging with promises of some really twisty exciting stuff in the future.

3.5 stars for me. I enjoyed the plot of this book very much. However, there were issues I had with the way it was written. There were often jarring transitions from one setting/event to the next. I thought it was odd that her mom simultaneously seemed panicked but also calm and sent her daughter who was being hunted to a convenience store lol. Just strange inconsistencies in the characters. There were two times when she knew things and then two paragraphs later was just learning them, which was odd. The world and the plot, however, were intriguing to me and I was hooked enough to continue reading it. I love anything academia and mystery. I think with some polish it could be really good, and who knows, given that it is an ARC and not the final, maybe some of that polish will be done before it comes out.

I LOVE THIS STORY. I don't have words to express how much I enjoyed the characters and the world Elle created.

"The Sphere commands my attention. Its tiny specks—names—etched on its surface seem to gleam angrily. Blackened matter crashes against its glassy surface, ferocious and thrashing as if it intends to claw its way out. I bite down knowingly. That's how my toushana feels."

HOUSE OF MARIONNE was one of my most-anticipated reads of the summer, and I was thrilled when I found the first few chapters riveting. While I ultimately enjoyed the book, I walked away wanting more from it.

There were a couple of scenes at the beginning of the book that were dark and action-packed, but after that, it seemed like the Order was on the outskirts of the story rather than a central plot point. Also, I felt that it read more middle grade than young adult. There is absolutely nothing wrong with middle grade, and based upon some of the violence, the I feel that the book is appropriately marketed. My biggest issue was the lack of depth to the characters. Quell's motivations for wanting to succeed at Chateau Soleil were clear, but I felt as though she was written in a manner that made her feel more like a pawn on a chessboard than a heroine in YA novel.

Here's an example: **MINOR SPOILER**
"'Yes, did you hear?'
'That Nore is okay, yes! That’s wonderful.'
'That your Cotillion is back on. You have six days.'
'Oh, yes.' I search her expression for more than she lets on, some hint of what the last several days were like for her. But she doesn’t appear very relieved. 'Well, don’t doddle,' she snaps. I curtsy and she walks off. She doesn’t say a word to anyone else in the crowd. I head straight for Mrs. Cuthers. Since the ticking timeline leading up to debut is back, I need to be sure everything’s in place."

Quell's brain immediately flipped back to Cotillion planning, making it seem like she had no opinions, thoughts, or feelings about the news about Nore or the way her grandmother just treated her.
**END OF MINOR SPOILER**

This is not to say that the book was without merit. I appreciated the commentary on privilege and the way that it's used. I also loved the opulent world of ballgowns and glittering tiaras. I will definitely be checking out the next installment in the series because of that ending, and I'm hoping that there will be a deeper dive into the Order, the magic system, and Quell as a whole. Thank you again to Penguin Teen for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, I just did not connect with this book. I struggled with the pacing of the book and honestly just some of the choices Quell made. Really, I think this just leaned a little young for me. Quell definitely felt young in a way I don’t relate to anymore. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters. I can’t even exactly pinpoint why, because the magic system is super unique. The world is really interesting. Usually, I eat it right up, but something about this book just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. I will not be reviewing on Goodreads as I don’t want to bring down the rating when plenty of other people will enjoy this immensely.

♾️/5 ⭐️
This book is a whole mood full of fierce and elegant Black Girl Magic! Put on your tiaras, dress in your Bridgerton best, and prepare to delight in YA urban fantasy’s exquisite diamond of the season.

I want to be part of this world! HOM is a whole mood, an entire aesthetic! I’m obsessed.

J.Elle has outdone herself, creating a uniquely crafted world rich with all the best elements of a dark academia and fantasy mix.

Complete with an enthralling magic system, political intrigue, morally gray characters with questionable intent, a refreshingly relatable and defiant main character, and highly quotable, swoon-worthy, slow burn romance…

I had to pace myself so I could savor my first read through and not devour it in one setting. This is one of my favorite reads of the year, a literary world I’m looking forward to exploring again with rereads and sequels.

Snatch this one up Shonda Rhimes. We need the HOM TV series asap!

Thank you to Penguin Group, Razorbill and Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this ebook. I am leaving a voluntary review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

Elle’s dark academia novel dazzles!

“House of Marionne” follows 17-year-old Quell who has been cursed with forbidden magic flowing through her veins. In hopes of keeping her mother safe and ridding herself of her deadly magic completely, she inducts into a magical debutante society called the Order. But passing the three rites of membership proves to be a difficult task and the more she discovers about the Order, the harder it is to turn her back on the dark magic she’s grown to embrace.

Elle’s intricate world-building blew me away! The level of detail she provides surrounding each house, the magic specialties that exist, the Dragun brotherhood, and the induction process is astounding. I also thought it was cool concept for each inductee to manifest either a crown or a mask that reflected their strength and power.

The amount of information Elle packs into her novel is intentionally overwhelming at first, closely aligning with Quell’s feelings towards the world she is spontaneously thrust into. I enjoyed reading from her point-of-view and learning about the inner workings of the Order at the same time she does. Quell’s perspective is also unique in that it allows the reader to experience how magic—both light and dark—feels through descriptive language.

Additionally, chapters written from Yagrin’s point-of-view create a layer of intrigue that propel the story forward. I enjoyed trying to piece together his role in Quell’s journey of self-discovery and the reveal at the end did not leave me disappointed!

My only qualm with this book is the pacing. Despite “House of Marionne” being 400 pages, the pacing felt off. The speed and ease with which Quell masters her magic and makes it through each stage of the induction made the whole narrative feel unrealistic. The pacing also accelerates Quell and Jordan’s relationship development, creating a whirlwind romance. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, fans of the slow burn trope, like myself, will be left wanting.

Quell has been on the run her entire life. Hiding a dangerous form of magic, she and her mom flee from town to town so she will never be found. But then someone finds her. Forced to make an impossible choice, Quell seeks sanctuary with her estranged Grandmother, Headmistress of the House of Marionne, which prepares debutantes to bind their magic to the Order and enter society. Guided through the daunting affairs of the public spotlight by the mysterious Jordan, Quell finds herself torn between accepting her true self and embracing the status—and power—that she never knew she had.

So I really wanted to like this book. It combined upper-class parties, dark academia, debutantes, secret societies, and magic grounded in reality. But the author didn’t seem to understand her own world. There were so many confusing terms thrown at the reader followed by near-nonsense explanations that the worldbuilding felt unstable at best. I never really understood why magic worked a certain way or why it mattered in the scheme of the plot. The book also lacked direction—there were too many things shoved together to make a coherent storyline. A story can’t be Bridgerton and Ninth House and Caraval at once without failing to stand on its own.

The characters were shadows of archetypes rather than fully-fleshed individuals. Quell spent the first half of the book being told how special she was, so none of her accomplishments felt earned. Of course, she was going to be powerful—the audience was informed of how magnificent and talented she was from page one. There was no conflict with improving her magic. Yes, there were some hurdles, but she cleared them without putting in the effort. I understand that the entire novel can’t be a training montage, but seeing characters struggle is what makes them relatable and likable.

Speaking of which, I did not like Jordan. He’s supposed to be brooding and mysterious but came across instead as distant and uncaring. I didn’t buy any romance in the novel, nor did I fully get why the audience was supposed to root for it. Additionally, the plot was interesting when it got started… twenty pages until the end of the story.

House of Marionne had so much potential that it pains me not to love it. That being said, I’ve read a lot of YA books of this kind, so if you’re interested in secret societies meet Southern–style magical debutantes, I recommended giving this novel a try.

I have loved everything from J. Elle and this was no exception. Definitely an auto buy author.

Quell has a type of dark magic called toushana. It caused her mom to leave their home and they have to move around all the time. There is a group of magic users that hunt down and kill them. When things go wrong, Quell is forced to go to her grandma's. She's a headmistress and Quell is thrown into classes to learn how to use her magic (the good kind) and learn etiquette. While Quell does enjoy some of the things there, she is terrified that someone will find out her secret. She has a roommate she trusts, but she still can't tell her about it. Same with her mentor, Jordan, that she starts to have feelings for. He's very much into the order and she worries what his duty would make him do. Quell starts to see some of the darker sides of the order, especially when girls go missing. Quell can't even really trust her grandma who is much more strict with the order than she expected.

I knew there would be some twists in this book, but for some reason, I didn't see these coming. I was surprised by a couple things. The pacing was great and I enjoyed the whole book. I definitely want to read book two asap.

I gave this book 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

This started off incredibly difficult to get into. I think the world building wasn’t completely clear early on. With most fantasy books, I am able to keep up even if I’m a little confused early on about the magic system. This one took me until about 40% to feel fully engrossed.

Once I was into it, I really enjoyed the storyline. Some of the plot twisty moments could be seen coming, but I actually felt that really helped build the tension. I enjoyed the romance aspects, as well as the moral conflicts that Quell faced on her journey, and I look forward to reading what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A magical debutante ball, where magic manifests as a crown growing out of their head, is such an incredible, dark, and twisted idea! I have been so excited about this book ever since I heard J. Elle talk about it at the Texas Book Festival back in November! And it lived up to expectations! The extravagant setting, curtsying, and crystal-embedded diadems made the setting feel like a magic royal court, while the school elements and high stakes gave dark academia vibes. It was such a unique setting, and while it dragged a bit at times and I was left with so many unanswered questions, I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

House of Marionne follows a teen girl named Quell, who is cursed with dark magic called toushanna. She and her mom have spent her entire life on the run, and when a group of magic users find out she might have toushanna, they aim to kill her. To escape her mother gives her a powder that can magically transport her anywhere; and she ends up at her grandmom's house. It turns out her grandmom is one of the 4 leaders of magical society, and expects Quell to learn magic and join the high magic society as her heir. Can Quell keep her toushanna under control long enough to pass the course required to become a full magic user?

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and was excited to read it every night. It was fast paced and I loved a lot of the characters; Quell, Jordan, and Abby were my favorite. It was very sweet to see Quell and Abby's friendship bloom, and a budding relationship between Quell and Jordan.

What I wasn't too sure about was how realistic this all was. Quell knows nothing about her grandmother or magic at all, and in the span of 10 minutes she is suddenly at her grandmothers house and being welcomed into the magic community. Not only that, but she excels at magic so fast compared to everyone else. It seemed unrealistic. Another thing that bugged me were there were a lot of times I couldn't tell who was speaking. There would be multiple sentences said by different characters back to back and I kept getting lost in the conversation. I also find it unrealistic that for her entire life. Quell has never had too many issues with her toushanna. Then all of a sudden it's popping up left and right. Did she never accidentally disintegrate stuff in her school years? But all of a sudden she's dissintigrating everything with her toushanna. The magic system is also really poorly explained.

I felt like there was a lot going on in this book, with Quell's storyline, Yagrin's storyline, and a whole bunch of mysteries. It seemed to end on a cliffhanger, which I guess means we will be getting a sequel. I did not expect this seeing as there is no mention of this being a series. I was hoping it would wrap up as a standalone. Hopefully there is more to the plot and a second installment coming, otherwise this seems like a very incomplete story. In the case that there are future installments, I am excited to see where Quell's story goes and will definitely be reading.

3.5/5 stars. I think this story would be best enjoyed by teens and fantasy lovers who like soft magic systems.

House of Marionne debuts an exciting new series that gives a beautiful crossover of the mystical world of magical dark academia and the sophistication of high class society's debutantes and cotillion.

I was immediately intrigued by the storyline of a protagonist who was shielded from her true nature and the expectation of her learning to come into her power. I would really like to see plot points further developed because some of the timelines felt pretty rushed in which I lost concept of time pretty often. I also would like to be able to further see into the different abilities and houses, which I would expect will occur later in the series.

Each character had their own intricacies that will only further develop in the series and I am interested to see where this series leads us next!

⭐ 3.5
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I read this book thinking it was a solid 3 stars, until before the last part. There wasn't much I disliked but not much for me to fall in love with it, either..
What I disliked the most was the romance, it just felt flat for me. I think it could have developed more, especially the "enemies" part (and i even thought the romance was going to be with someone else because of this) but [spoilers, kinda?] after thar ending who knows (tho I thought Quell didn't seem angry enought with him after). Also, even thought I know we didn't know much about Quell's magic (toushana) specifically on purpose, i think we could have known more about the world's magic system overall.
What I liked the most was Quell's relationship with her grandmother. I always enjoy stories with complicated relationships with mothers, grandmothers or any mother figure. And the endind! Its why I added a half star to the rating. I Really enjoyed it and its why I plan to read the sequel. I think it has a lot of potential moving foward!

After a slow start, the story picked up and had me invested. Now, I just have to wait for the sequel to get some answers!

Quell is our MC. She's likeable, and her lack of understanding about her new magical world translates to the reader. On that front, it's tough to keep up with what's going on, why her mom is so evasive, who to/not to trust, etc. While this is essential for developing our MC, it's tough to attach to any of the characters without having enough context.

The setting of the "hidden" magical house works for the seclusion that Quell feels, and the elusive understanding of Jordan/his position. It also supports some of the intense learning that happens within the school since there's a literal divide between worlds.

Strong familial topics give good points for discussion. A few romantic elements thrown in keep the story just interesting enough. And the reveal at the end was well set up and makes me excited to continue the series.

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: magic, murder, language,

**Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin House Penguin Young Readers Group for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**